Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and told the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She added the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
